Industry and Demographics of New Zealand

New Zealand is an island nation in the South Pacific. It was settled around 500 years ago by Polynesians from Raiatea in the Society Islands, and that group today is the Maori. A couple of hundred years after the Maori arrived, the British settled the country. There are around 4.5 million people in New Zealand. Of these, the ethnic distribution is around 74% European background (mostly British), 15% Maori, 11.8% Asian and 7.4% other Pacific groups. There is a trend towards increasing minority populations in New Zealand. Most New Zealanders live in urban areas, with nearly 3 million people living in the ten largest cities. Most live on the North Island, where most of the largest cities are located. North Island also has much of the nation's industry. South Island has more agricultural and tourism-based businesses, in part because of its remoteness.

New Zealand skews young compared with many other developed nations, on account of high Maori birthrates and on account of immigration. Many New Zealanders have gone overseas to work in larger economies in the UK and Australia, but immigration has picked up the slack with respect to this part of the workforce.

The judicial system in New Zealand is based on the British system of common law. The principle of common law is that the rule of law is interpreted by statute, and by judicial precedent. Thus, language is adhered to with specificity, according to the text of the statute and the prior interpretations of the statute. The system is transparent and considered to be honest and reliable.

The New Zealand economy is a market economy, fully developed. That said, trade today is based heavily on agricultural products such as wool and food products. There is some manufacturing and construction as well in the New Zealand economy, as well as a handful of commodities from the mining industry. Forestry is another major industry. The country is still small on the global scale, with the 71st-largest economy in the world. Most trade is with Australia, the UK, and several different Asian countries.

New Zealand is becoming increasingly multicultural. A few decades ago, the country was over 90% European descent, but a combination of immigration and higher Maori birthrates has increased the numbers of visible minorities in the country. As New Zealand has become more economically diversified, this has increased links with countries like China and Japan. New Zealand has therefore seen an increase in diversity, and something that has affected businesses in the country as well.

There are several courses available to New Zealand companies to assist with managing diversity, given the new environment that the country is facing, compared with past decades. Several companies have developed multicultural training programs that they market in the New Zealand corporate sector. This is not simply a matter of dealing with Maori, but rather is a response to the reality that New Zealand companies are operating in a global marketplace, and have to be able to deal with people of different cultures in order to succeed. They need to know the strategies for understanding others, and fostering stronger communication.